Umarekawaru Born Again
by Tsuyunoinochi Koukyo
Summary: The sequel to Pret with me! Himeno's mother is back, and she discovers things are...not as they were before she died. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Umarekawaru: Chapter 1**

Author's Note: Okay, so the name Dawn is really stupid for a woman with a daughter who has a Japanese name, but I couldn't think of anything else, and the online Japanese translator wasn't working well, so I had to pick an English name.  Nevertheless, I hope this still appeals to you in some aspect.  Enjoy!  Update:: Before you read this, you should try reading the prequel, Prêt with me!  It says on the summary that there is a prequel, but this will be hard to follow if one has never read Prêt with me!  So before you complain that you don't understand, read the prequel, please!

Dawn held Himeno's body in her arms, signaling for help.  A few people had come over to help, the few who were in that area at the time.  When it was confirmed nothing could be done, a young man walked over and suggested they take Himeno to his house so the ambulance could be called.  Reluctantly, Dawn agreed, and she walked with this man to his house, trying to ignore the fact that he was very handsome, trying to remind herself that she had Kaoru.  Which, by the way-where was he?  Did he not care about the condition of his daughter?  Or didn't he know?

Dawn had no idea that she had been dead, or that her daughter sacrificed her life to bring her back.  She didn't know Kaoru had been remarried, or that Himeno was the Pretear, that she had met the handsome Leafe Knights.  She thought she had only been unconscious for a time.  And now she knew that her daughter was dead, for some unknown reason.  Would she find out why?  Could this amethyst eyed man help her figure out why Himeno was gone?

They arrived at the house, and it was there that Dawn finally collapsed from angst.  The mysterious man took Himeno's unmoving body from Dawn's arms and laid her down on the couch.  Then Dawn began to spill out what she thought had happened, and he listened intently, focused on her face, his eyes never straying elsewhere.

"I'm Dawn." She said finally, feeling sorry she hadn't introduced her self at the beginning.  She walked to Himeno and kneeled down next to the body, stroking its hair softly.

"Onkan." He said quietly, his lovely purple eyes focused now on the ground.

"Do you know where I can get a hold of Awayuki Kaoru?" Dawn asked finally.  "He is my husband."

"Shouldn't we call for an ambulance first?" he objected.

"There's nothing they could do, Onkan-sama.  It's best to let Himeno's father know." Dawn wiped the tears from her eyes with a tissue Onkan handed to her.

"Yes…" he handed her the phone, his eyes narrowed in understanding.  She smiled at him slightly, taking it and dialing her apartment number.

Her face twisted with confusion as a strange man answered and told her Awayuki Kaoru was married to the widow Natsue.  She thanked him and hung up, turning to Onkan.

"Do you…know where to find Awayuki Natsue?" she asked him, her eyes tearing again.

"Yes." He nodded gravely, and picked up Himeno's body from the sofa, leading Dawn outside.

It had never occurred to Dawn that this man might be trying to hurt her, or that he was going to seduce her.  She felt a calmness about him, a serenity that assured her he understood what she felt, like he had lost a daughter as well.  She somehow knew that he was tranquil and kind, perhaps because he had invited her to set Himeno down at his house, and perhaps because when she had entered his home, there had been a lingering calm inside her body.  She remembered that she had stopped crying then, that she thought there might be a thread of hope for Himeno yet.

"Awayuki Natsue is the owner of Awayuki town.  She married an author who was famous for his romance novels.  I'm sorry, I should have known sooner that the famous author was your husband." Onkan explained as they walked.

"But…I feel like I was just married to him yesterday…I mean, I was.  How did he get married to Natsue so quickly?" Dawn was in shock.

"I heard…" Onkan shook his head, cutting off his sentence.

"What?  What did you hear?"

"That his wife died.  I don't remember of what, but…she died.  Her grave is at the cemetery in Kaoru-sama's backyard of his old apartment.  Do you suppose he had another wife before you?"

"No…there was no one else.  Was it a fake?  Do you remember her name?"

"No…it was an American name, that's all I know." He lowered his head.

            "I am American…" Dawn felt tears to her eyes.  How could this be?  Kaoru was her husband…and Natsue was his wife.  How could Dawn be dead?  Here she was, conversing with this handsome and kind gentleman, and she was supposedly dead?  This couldn't be!

            "Is there another Awayuki anywhere?" Onkan asked.

            "Huh?" Dawn looked up into the purple eyes.

            "Is there another Awayuki anywhere?" he repeated.

            "Uh…no.  Not that I know of." She began to feel sick.  This couldn't be happening!  Not to her!

            But when she glanced at Himeno's lifeless face, she knew it was real and not a dream.  More tears fell down her face, and she began to sob.  She wanted to fly into Kaoru's arms, but…he was married.  And now she had no one…

            "This is the Awayuki mansion." Onkan told her softly, apparently trying to lighten the blow.  When Dawn looked up, a mansion is exactly what she saw.  She tried to stop tears from flowing even more prominently, but her efforts were useless.  Onkan saw this and went in, taking Dawn after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Umarekawaru: Chapter 2**

Author's Notes: Okay, so this is the sequel to Prêt with me! As you all know.  And you know that Himeno has died, and that her mother was looking down at her body at the end of the last chapter.  Well, Dawn has met a man, and he helped her get to Kaoru's new home, with Natsue the widow. (I didn't like the fact that Dawn was slightly attracted to him even though she should be focusing on poor Himeno's death, but I can't think of anything else.) And by the way, Dawn is Himeno's American mother.  I hope that clears up some of the confusion.  Well, on with the story!

Dawn neared the large estate with caution in her eyes, fury in her heart.  Why had Kaoru forgotten about her?  She was right here; it was like Kaoru had gone and married another woman right under her nose!  But yet it felt like she had known all this time…like she had been out in the open, there, in the Awayuki estate, but in some other form.  It felt like somehow she knew about all of this…and she had been happy about it.  How long had she been gone?  Himeno had grown up so much, so…it must have been for a long time…Kaoru had the right to marry Natsue.  Himeno needed a woman in her life now that her mother was gone.

            "Dawn, are you alright?" Onkan's voice seeped into Dawn's mind.  She frowned, looking up at his calm face.  The purple eyes…the low, silky voice…the understanding in his eyes…he seemed familiar…in a way.  But how…?

            "Yes.  We…we should go in now." She was aware of her voice shaking and trembling, but she could do nothing of it now.  He seemed to know anyway, the pain of losing a child.  The pain of death.  He knew how one got, how the world trembled and shook with full force, like everything had been destroyed and you were alone.  It was like he…it was like he knew exactly what death was, and like he had gone through such a stage in which he had experienced so much…that he himself was destroyed.  There was a sadness in those amethyst eyes…

            They walked in the gates, their eyes darting to the expansive pathway, down to the ground.  Dawn's eyes began to fill with tears as she slightly raised them to rest on Himeno's calm and peaceful face, silent from death.  She wished her daughter would just wake, and she wouldn't be here, at her former husband's mansion, to inform him of the death of Himeno.

            A small, balding man came up to them, a suspicious look on his face.  He was looking mainly at Onkan with fear.

            "What do you want?" he asked Dawn and Onkan, greeting them with…fear?

            Dawn held out Himeno's body, unable to contain her tears any longer.  She fell to the ground, jagged ridges forming down the sides of her pale cheeks, caused by salty water droplets forming out of her eyes.  Onkan leaned down to her, looking quickly at the small man.

            "Fetch the master of this house, Kaoru-sama.  Inform him of his daughter's death, please." He remained disturbingly calm, his eyes lowering again to Himeno's body with a familiar ness, a strange recognization in his eyes.  Did he know her?

Author's Notes: So? What did you think? I'm sorry it was so short; my brother's antsy to get on the computer, I'm hungry, and new anime is on. But with the minimal work I did, was it still a good chapter? I honestly hope so!


	3. Chapter 3

**Umarekawaru: Chapter 3**

Author's notes: Okay, so thank you to my loyal reviewers! I promise that this will be a good story, and not confusing I hope, when I am done! When I am finished though, if you wish, I'll redo it so it is a better read, and not quite so boring and short! But right now I guess I'd better get to writing.

"What happened?! What happened to my Himeno?!" Kaoru howled, throwing his head back in an inhuman howl. Natsue came up behind her husband, not seeing Himeno's lifeless form right away.

"What's wrong, Kaoru?" she purred, ignoring the stranger in front of her. Kaoru pointed to both Dawn and Himeno, still in shock. But was it from Dawn, Himeno, or both? Maybe Dawn shouldn't have come here. Maybe the shock from Himeno's death was enough, and now here, Kaoru's dead wife was standing in front of him, holding his daughter.

Onkan remained stiff, as he had been before. Dawn wondered why he was so calm. Come to think about it…he hadn't been too sad about Himeno from the beginning. He was serene, like he knew this was going to happen. Who was he, and was Onkan his real name?

That week, Himeno's funeral was held, and Dawn cried the remainder of her tears out silently as the man droned on endlessly about how good a daughter Himeno was, and that she'd rest in peace with her mother. Dawn almost laughed at that. She was standing right there, not three feet from the preacher! And yet he did not notice her…

Onkan was silent, perhaps grieving to himself? Or…what was he doing there anyway? Dawn had seen him walk away from the mansion, a…was it a smile…?…on his face. How did he get back here? Mr. Tanaka hadn't said anything about there being a visitor, so…he must have snuck in. But she guessed he was welcome here, since he did help her get here and all.

Earlier on in the week, after Kaoru had recovered from his shock, Dawn had explained the entire thing to him. At first he was skeptical, but if his dead wife was alive again…it wasn't under normal circumstances. She wasn't released for good behavior or anything like that, like in a prison. The only reasonable explanation was the one Dawn told, that Himeno had sacrificed her life for Dawn's. Hard to understand, but right now it seemed true.

However, Dawn had left out one thing. Onkan. She figured Kaoru had known about him already, and it wasn't important at the moment, anyway.

The night of the funeral, Dawn sat in her former daughter's room, examining the walls and the furniture, every detail, small and big. She only wished that she was visiting her daughter's room under better circumstances…not this.

A journal caught her sight, and she began to move towards it. Suddenly she stopped, thinking that reading Himeno's diary was an invasion of privacy. Even if Himeno was dead, it was her journal, and Dawn had no right to examine it.

So she turned away, towards the desk near the wall. She wondered where Onkan had gone. After the funeral, he had just disappeared. She had had the urge to run to his house and check up on him, but then she had thought that maybe he had gone somewhere to cry. Perhaps he had known Himeno, after all…?

She couldn't keep her mind off of the journal as she ran her fingers over the wood of the desk, looking over at the small bedside table the book of words sat. She wanted to read it so badly…to experience Himeno's pains and joys as if she had been there. Finally she gave up against the urge and walked over to the diary, lifting it with little strength. It wasn't locked, as if she had been destined to read it.

At the opening of the book, a small photograph fell out. There was Himeno…! And some other people…who were they?

"Oh my!" She cried out, recognizing the face.

Author's notes: So I can just hear you screaming for this cliffhanger to end. So I will try and write something tonight and post it tomorrow, okay? Oh, I just love where this is going! Keep reading, and reviews are appreciated! And for those who don't know yet, I have a poem called Sasame's song that Sasame fans might wanna check out. It has nothing to do with this story, but it could keep you occupied until I post the next chapter… And as a warning, I think I might work on that Sasame/Himeno pairing that I said I would. So watch for it, whenever I even start it!


	4. Chapter 4

**Umarekawaru: Chapter 4**

Author's notes: Yes, I am terribly sorry I didn't get to this sooner! I've been busy with my homework, and kanji, and all sorts of other stuff I don't have time to list! Okay, so here's the next chapter!

This…this face…could it be? Could it be…

"Onkan?" the soft lavender eyes gazed at her from the picture, the whitish hair glinting in the sun. It was Onkan all right, but who were these other people? Dawn decided the only way to find out was to check the remainder of the diary. She turned the photograph over to see the date 7-10-04 written neatly in purple pen. She opened the diary to the entries and began to look for the entry labeled 7-10-04, if there was one. Indeed, she did find it, after scanning all of the pages. It was one of her last entries.

7-10-04 8:00 PM

Dear Journal,

I feel so worthless right now. I've…I've shamed everyone. I feel that the name of the Pretear does me justice no longer. Sasame is dead, and it is all my fault! I wonder why I've even written in here, as it will do me no good.

If you could have seen Sasame's face as he died, diary, you would understand the pain I've relived over and over again, the agony that has bound me to depression.

His face was bleeding! Everything…everywhere was blood! And you know who did it? Me! Me, I killed Sasame! And all of the other Knights-Hayate, Shin, Kei, Goh, Mannin, and Hajime-I hurt them all as well! I'll never forgive myself for what I've done, never! Sasame…all he wanted to do was help, and he died. Died because of me. All my fault…

"Who is this Sasame? She seems to like him…But that was then, this is now. I have to find out who this white haired stranger is and how he knows Himeno." Dawn frowned as she turned the page to the next entry.

7-11-04 9:00 PM

Dear Journal,

Sasame tried to comfort me today. He kept telling me that he was alright, that his death was not my fault. But I know in my heart that it was. If he wouldn't have preted with me, then he wouldn't have died, simple as that.

"Prêt? Pretear? What is she talking about? And I thought she said Sasame, whoever he is, was dead. How in the world is he comforting her?" Nothing in that entry satisfying her, she turned the page once more.

7-21-04 7:00 PM

Dear Journal,

I think I have a new power. I went to visit the other Leafe Knights to ask them about it. They didn't have any idea about it, but Sasame did. I wonder how he communicates with me…he's been talking to me these past few days, maybe by telepathic message. Something like that. But he said not to use my power yet. He said I should use it for when I really, truly need it. When my heart says it's right? But how will I know? Will the answer just come to me? Or will Sasame tell me?

Sasame refuses to give me any real details about the power, except for it is too important to use now. What is that supposed to mean? When will an emergency count? I think now is time enough, because Hayate is still missing, and Sasame is gone. The Leafe Knights are going out of their minds and I'm falling into depression! It feels like Fenir is already here; everything is going so bad! I wish I could just roll myself up into this comforter and wash everything that's happened out of my brain. Just delete it all, push it into the garbage. But…then I would be letting the kids down. And that wouldn't be a very good thing, would it? The Leafe Knights may not want to admit it, and I don't want to admit it, but we need each other, more than ever now! If I give up now, what will they do?

"Leafe Knights? Is that who the strangers in the picture are? And Himeno is this thing called a…a Pretear? Who is Fenir? Who are Hayate and Sasame? And who are the kids? I don't think these are helping me much…" Clueless, Dawn turned to the middle of the diary, finding exactly what she had wanted.

2-22-04 5:00 PM

Dear Journal,

Hello…I'm so confused. I feel…lightheaded…sick to my stomach…okay, I guess I'd better start at the beginning…

Dawn read the entry slowly and carefully, soaking up all the information about each 'Leafe Knight' and what had happened to her darling daughter Himeno.

When she was finished, she began to inspect the pictures that were taped into the cover of the diary. She saw a tall and dark blue haired man, the labeling 'Hayate.' Next to that was a small picture of a small boy with blonde hair and emerald eyes, titled 'Shin.' Then came people named Mannin, Goh, Hajime, and Kei, each with their picture above their name. Surprisingly, the last one was the man called Sasame. He looked exactly like Onkan, with the exception of the clothes.

"Is that really Onkan, and not a twin? Sasame is dead…" She remembered her own apparent experience with death, and realized that Onkan and Sasame were one in the same. But why the name change? Why not come out and say 'Oh, I knew your daughter. My name is Sasame,'? Was it honestly that hard?

A few seconds after seeing the picture, she heard footsteps in the hallway and someone in the doorway. She started to turn around, knowing exactly who was there waiting for her. Did he know she knew?

Author's Notes: Not quite a cliffhanger there. I made it so you would easily be able to tell who was waiting for her. But are you all wondering how Sasame got there in the first place? (I am too! I haven't thought that part up yet…) Therefore, it will take a while for me to think up a solution to this problem and then write it out, so you might have to wait a while. I have to crack down on my homework too, so…(3 weeks till school! Yay!) Alright, gotta go!


	5. Chapter 5

**Umarekawaru: Chapter 5**

Author's Notes: Okay, now for the next chapter! Sorry it took so long, you all can thank kerricarri for reviewing, because I will not update until someone reviews! So yay for kerricarri! Okay, now on to the story! I hope you guys enjoy this; it might be the last chapter!

"Sasame…" Dawn turned around, her blue eyes meeting his purple ones. He knew now that she had figured out who he was. Could he possibly have come up to tell her the truth? Well, now he probably would. There was no denying her knowledge. He would have to explain.

"Dawn…I…I knew Himeno." Sasame said quietly.

"I know that. Why didn't you tell me before?" She asked him, glancing back at the photograph that had been taken of Himeno and the Leafe Knights.

"I…I didn't want to frighten you. It's hard to explain…how one could randomly meet someone's mother as her daughter, someone he knew, died."

"It was pure coincidence, right? Are you really Sasame?"

"Pure coincidence, you say? No, in fact far from. I…I am the real Sasame. Onkan was a nickname I made up…it means sound. I was the Leafe Knight of Sound…but now I am not. I did, in fact die, as Himeno clearly stated. Somehow…she revived me as well as you. I'm not sure how, but…now I am here, in the real world, with you. But…I am afraid my presence here will not last much longer. I am a temporary being…I cannot stay here too long. Perhaps you could say it was a last wish sort of thing…but I'm not sure if that's right."

"So…you did die?" Dawn asked. Sasame nodded quietly, his long hair shaking loosely. "And…you made a wish…to come back?" Another nod. "But you will have to leave soon." Nod. "But…doesn't Himeno get a wish? Will Himeno come back too, just for a little?"

"Dawn…I've made one last request. I've asked Himeno to take my place in my last few minutes of life. She won't be able to stay for long, but…I wish you good luck. Spend this time together well…and know that she and I will always watch over you…"

Dawn gaped as Sasame was pulled into the sky, and Himeno was pulled down. The pink eyes glinted brilliantly, the red hair standing on end. The crystalline tears falling from two faces dropped onto the carpet, and hugs were given. Himeno ran into Dawn's arms, smiling with puffy eyes, and smiles were shared. Himeno's last five minutes on Earth were spent with her mother, just a plain reunion between mother and daughter. They laughed like they never had before, they cried like they never had before, and they shared each moment with each other, sharing everything. They spent every second of their time together, not missing out on a single thing. Both knew this was to be their last time seeing each other, to hold each other close and talk, to hug and comfort each other if something was to go wrong. Even though they knew that their hearts would break after this moment, they kept on going, sharing moments and tears.

Eventually, the five minutes ended, and a pale hand reached out toward Himeno. It was Sasame, and he peered curiously down towards Himeno, waiting for her hand in return. She gazed at her mother, gave her a hug, and reached out toward Sasame, placing her hand in his and feeling her body become lighter as she flew up into the sky. One last show of affection-a single wave goodbye-was shared, and Himeno was gone in a flash of light. Dawn began to cry as Natsue and Kaoru came in, seeing her tears. They too began to cry, unknowing what Dawn's real problem was. They didn't know about the Leafe Knights or Sasame, they didn't know about Himeno's ability to be the Pretear. They knew only that Dawn had lost her daughter; they had lost a daughter; and they were merely comforting her and themselves. Were they going to find out the truth, as well?

Author's Notes: So there it is, the last chapter! I'm terribly sorry it was so short, I'm planning on revising it when I get really inspired. Maybe I'll combine all the chapters together and repost this so it's one long story, and not in short, spiffy chapters like it is now. I don't know; I'll have to think about it. Hope you liked it, and please review! I'd love to know what you think!


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